Fertiberia to supply green fertilizer to UK retail company

In its objective of advancing towards the decarbonisation of the global agri-food sector, Grupo Fertiberia will supply Marks & Spencer with its Impact Zero green fertilizers with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of 27 dairy farms. The UK distribution of these plant nutrition solutions will be handled by Bartholomews Agrifood, who will ensure that M&S farms are the first to adopt this technology from Spring 2024.

Fertiberia's Impact Zero line marks a new stage in the production of emission-free plant nutrition solutions, manufactured with innovative technology, environmental efficiency, and in a sustainable way, thanks to the substitution of natural gas for renewable energy sources, which guarantee local supply.

Javier Goñi, CEO of Grupo Fertiberia, said: ″The decarbonisation of the food chain requires cooperation between all the links in the chain, and this alliance shows the way forward. Fertiberia contributes its Impact Zero crop nutrition solutions and the 'know how' of its R+D department; Bartholomews channels and guarantees the best application of these solutions thanks to its extensive knowledge of farmers and ranchers in the United Kingdom, and M&S exercises the leadership of the initiative to deliver foods that drastically reduce their emissions to the final consumer, who demands more and more fully respectful products with the environment.″

The Impact Zero range that M&S will use improves the efficiency of nitrogen use by 22%, allowing a reduction in the amount of product used, as well as leaching losses. In addition, its true differential value comes from the unique way in which it is manufactured, since it uses green hydrogen instead of natural gas, which reduces up to 3 t of CO2 emissions per t of ammonia.

"M&S has set significant targets to reduce our carbon footprint and become net zero across our value chain by 2040. 72% of M&S Food's emissions come from agriculture and around half of them from cattle, mainly ruminants. Therefore, it is essential that we work with our farmers to achieve meaningful change. We believe that the use of these fertilizers will allow our farmers to maintain productivity while playing an essential role in helping to decarbonise milk production, and we are very pleased to have reached this agreement″, said Steve McLean, Director of Agriculture and M&S Fishing.

For his part, Gary Herman, CEO of Bartholomews, states: "With a constantly growing world population, in a context of decreasing available productive land area, agriculture faces the challenge of becoming increasingly efficient. This challenge must be assumed in a sustainable way, and the Impact Zero range is the solution for crop nutrition that the world deserves.″